We previously showed that tinnitus can be affected by genetics, but given the heterogeneity of the condition, it was unclear as yet which forms are more influenced than others. We recently published that severe tinnitus is very likely to be transmitted within the family, with risks increasing up to 9 times if a sibling has tinnitus, which is close to what is known for schizophrenia! Furthermore, there is a strong sex-bias, with women being more likely to be genetically impacted than men.
These are very important insights for future genetic studies on tinnitus, which emphasize focusing on severity and stratifications by sex!
We also call for redefining tinnitus, as less severe and more common forms may not be "disease-like". We believe that severe tinnitus is the relevant condition for focusing research on and better screens such as those performed in STOP should help refine this characterization in tinnitus research.
Trpchevska N, Bulla J, Prada Hellberg M, Edvall NK, Lazar A, Mehraei G, Uhlen I, Schlee W, Canlon B, Gallus S, Lopez-Escamez JA, Cederroth CR.
Journal of Clinical Medicine. 9(12), 3812 (2020) doi: 10.3390/jcm9123812
Journal of Clinical Medicine. 9(12), 3812 (2020) doi: 10.3390/jcm9123812
